TVR Chimaera - GT-R Register - Official Nissan Skyline and GTR Owners Club forum

minifreak · 27th April 2008, 04:00 PM

Basically my cousins after a convertable, and wants something a bit different. hes not a racer or a fast drive but likes to use a car for its torque so lots of low speed sunday drives.

we thought MX-5 but he sorta thinks its maybe a little plain.

so the Chimaera seems a nice idea, but were worried if its likely to be unreliable, horrid to drive.

So does anyone know much about these?

reliability, running costs, drivability?

Thanks

Greg

turboslippers · 27th April 2008, 06:30 PM

Family have had TVR's in the past and started with a chimp. Generally they are considered the most reliable of the modern TVR's and certainly less risk than anything with the speed 6 or AJP8 engines in.
If you are looking at older ones (think they start in '94) then the most important bit is the condition of the chassis. Even if the car is 8k it's probably worth having a specialist check it over as stripping the chassis out and replacing bits is a nightmare, particularly as it's hard to get hold of bits of chassis as TVR wanted crashed cars to come back to them for proper repair so don't think they supplied many parts.
The V8's are generally quite bomb proof but watch for overheating i.e make sure the fans kick in. After that it's really quality of the trim/electrics which is completely random. You have to expect that it's going to have some weird niggles but some cars are near perfect where as others can be a nightmare. It's always good to buy one that's been enthusiast owned for a number of years as usually they then have all the little glitches fixed
Driving wise, they are 'lovely'. That's sound vague but they are no where near as direct as the T350's, Cerbera's etc. They grip well, are surefooted but steering feel on the PAS cars (most of them) is not as good as an MX5. But if you want to waft along at 7/10's, roof off with a nice torquey engine they are great. I used to borrow the Chimeara all the time and it was a thoroughly pleasant car. Nowhere near as twitchy as the Griff 500 that replaced it.
It's not going to be as well built as a MX5 and it's a hand build British car so expect a few glitches. I was looking at getting a s/h griff 4.0 (pre-cat) for dad a year or so ago. You can tell a lot from the current owner as to whether it's potential trouble. The one I was looking at was enthusiast owned for 6 years, did all the work himself (he was an aeronautical engineer) and had fixed every little annoyance. I would prefer that car over one that has just been back and forward to a TVR dealer with nothing really fixed
Engines are (IIRC) 4.0, 4.0HC, 4.5 and 5.0. The first three aren't mentally fast (TVR power figures tend to be somewhat optomistic) but they are quick enough and, obviously, they sound fantastic and in a different league to an MX5
For buying I would tend to stick to pistonheads and see if any forum members selling because of kids (something like this). That way you stand a reasonable chance of not buying a lemon

Hope this helps!

turboslippers · 27th April 2008, 06:34 PM

Oh, and it'll need to be garaged! Dad had 6 in a row and every one leaked to some degree. Even the one that was Peter Wheeler's (ex boss of TVR) own car that was built for him originally that dad got, leaked. He's never garaged them and they used to end up ruined! Seriously, there were mushrooms growing on the floor matts of the cerbera (that particular car was a lemon)

minifreak · 27th April 2008, 06:52 PM

lol, thanks alot mate, thats pretty much answered every question i could have asked.

sounds like an ideal car for him, the lazy v8 should waft his fat arse along lol

engine wise id imagine a base engine wil be fine. ill pass on all the info you have said and hopefully we have found him the ideal car to get, now we just gotta find one

thanks again

Jim27 · 28th April 2008, 05:01 AM

Unless he's very happy to do his own spannering then I'd recommend you find the nearest REPUTABLE TVR independent to you. Pop along and have a natter with them - they may even have longstanding customers with known cars for sale. Best route every time IMHO.

minifreak · 28th April 2008, 07:07 AM

ok mate thanks, thats a good idea. he is pretty useless with tools, and i got enough cars to fix without his aswell lol

trickymex · 28th April 2008, 08:13 AM

i had a griff, basically the same car....

it never leaked while i had it but i did manage to snap the clutch fork????

and that was just normal driving around town.

what ever he does make sure he gets it with power steering as the steering is stupidly heavy.

the clutch is really heavy as well

they are also very twitchy but my main gripe was that they feel a bit to much like a kit car

other than that they are great

27th April 2008, 04:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
minifreak New Users Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North East London Posts: 764	TVR Chimaera Basically my cousins after a convertable, and wants something a bit different. hes not a racer or a fast drive but likes to use a car for its torque so lots of low speed sunday drives. we thought MX-5 but he sorta thinks its maybe a little plain. so the Chimaera seems a nice idea, but were worried if its likely to be unreliable, horrid to drive. So does anyone know much about these? reliability, running costs, drivability? Thanks Greg

27th April 2008, 06:30 PM	#2 (permalink)
turboslippers GTROC Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Essex Posts: 2,058	Family have had TVR's in the past and started with a chimp. Generally they are considered the most reliable of the modern TVR's and certainly less risk than anything with the speed 6 or AJP8 engines in. If you are looking at older ones (think they start in '94) then the most important bit is the condition of the chassis. Even if the car is 8k it's probably worth having a specialist check it over as stripping the chassis out and replacing bits is a nightmare, particularly as it's hard to get hold of bits of chassis as TVR wanted crashed cars to come back to them for proper repair so don't think they supplied many parts. The V8's are generally quite bomb proof but watch for overheating i.e make sure the fans kick in. After that it's really quality of the trim/electrics which is completely random. You have to expect that it's going to have some weird niggles but some cars are near perfect where as others can be a nightmare. It's always good to buy one that's been enthusiast owned for a number of years as usually they then have all the little glitches fixed Driving wise, they are 'lovely'. That's sound vague but they are no where near as direct as the T350's, Cerbera's etc. They grip well, are surefooted but steering feel on the PAS cars (most of them) is not as good as an MX5. But if you want to waft along at 7/10's, roof off with a nice torquey engine they are great. I used to borrow the Chimeara all the time and it was a thoroughly pleasant car. Nowhere near as twitchy as the Griff 500 that replaced it. It's not going to be as well built as a MX5 and it's a hand build British car so expect a few glitches. I was looking at getting a s/h griff 4.0 (pre-cat) for dad a year or so ago. You can tell a lot from the current owner as to whether it's potential trouble. The one I was looking at was enthusiast owned for 6 years, did all the work himself (he was an aeronautical engineer) and had fixed every little annoyance. I would prefer that car over one that has just been back and forward to a TVR dealer with nothing really fixed Engines are (IIRC) 4.0, 4.0HC, 4.5 and 5.0. The first three aren't mentally fast (TVR power figures tend to be somewhat optomistic) but they are quick enough and, obviously, they sound fantastic and in a different league to an MX5 For buying I would tend to stick to pistonheads and see if any forum members selling because of kids (something like this). That way you stand a reasonable chance of not buying a lemon Hope this helps! __________________ regards Ben R32 GTR (very economical) Saab V6 convertible (75+ mpg on a run...) BMW 328i sport (runs on thin air)

27th April 2008, 06:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
turboslippers GTROC Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Essex Posts: 2,058	Oh, and it'll need to be garaged! Dad had 6 in a row and every one leaked to some degree. Even the one that was Peter Wheeler's (ex boss of TVR) own car that was built for him originally that dad got, leaked. He's never garaged them and they used to end up ruined! Seriously, there were mushrooms growing on the floor matts of the cerbera (that particular car was a lemon) __________________ regards Ben R32 GTR (very economical) Saab V6 convertible (75+ mpg on a run...) BMW 328i sport (runs on thin air)

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27th April 2008, 06:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
minifreak New Users Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North East London Posts: 764	lol, thanks alot mate, thats pretty much answered every question i could have asked. sounds like an ideal car for him, the lazy v8 should waft his fat arse along lol engine wise id imagine a base engine wil be fine. ill pass on all the info you have said and hopefully we have found him the ideal car to get, now we just gotta find one thanks again

28th April 2008, 05:01 AM	#5 (permalink)
Jim27 GTR Register Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Bolton Posts: 4,470	Unless he's very happy to do his own spannering then I'd recommend you find the nearest REPUTABLE TVR independent to you. Pop along and have a natter with them - they may even have longstanding customers with known cars for sale. Best route every time IMHO.

28th April 2008, 07:07 AM	#6 (permalink)
minifreak New Users Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North East London Posts: 764	ok mate thanks, thats a good idea. he is pretty useless with tools, and i got enough cars to fix without his aswell lol

28th April 2008, 08:13 AM	#7 (permalink)
trickymex GTR Register Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 351	i had a griff, basically the same car.... it never leaked while i had it but i did manage to snap the clutch fork???? and that was just normal driving around town. what ever he does make sure he gets it with power steering as the steering is stupidly heavy. the clutch is really heavy as well they are also very twitchy but my main gripe was that they feel a bit to much like a kit car other than that they are great